


Timid Waters

by richestgrave (eyedler)



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-05 08:29:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/404371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyedler/pseuds/richestgrave
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shin and Sena <i>try</i> to date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timid Waters

**Author's Note:**

> No real spoilers. Humor and romance. Maybe a bit of sap. Originally posted [here](http://shinsena.livejournal.com/3523.html) back in 2006. Could work as a companion piece/sequel to [Fixation](http://archiveofourown.org/works/404360) but was written as a one-shot.

Hiruma was going to drive him insane. Never mind that Sena had run out in the middle of practice, Hiruma was _out for blood_ , and Sena thought he’d never been so grateful in his life for having reliably fast feet. Golden feet. Feet that could outrun Hiruma. Or at least buy Sena some few precious seconds of panicking—because he can’t outsmart Hiruma. _No one_ can outsmart Hiruma. It was only a matter of time before Sena would be found. A simple question of how long Sena could hold out.

He was crouched behind several barrels of tar. Why there would be tar in the Deimon campus, Sena didn’t have the time to think about. Whether tar was flammable, Sena didn’t _want_ to think about. Sena knew, of course, that he was in a not-so-effective hiding spot.

Maybe Musashi could help him. Maybe Musashi could tell Hiruma that he was leaving the team again and maybe Hiruma would throw a fit about it. Maybe even distract him from making Sena do…those things Hiruma said he should do.

Sena was beginning to think he should just find Mamori. Because Mamori would protect him. More importantly, Mamori _could_ protect him. He wasn’t very sure how she does it against Hiruma, but she does it so well and Sena was beginning to feel really nervous about the tar.

Sena risked a peek over one of the barrels and when he saw no Hiruma, he picked himself up and ran. Mamori would be in the club room. Enemy territory, sure. Fortified with traps and other unmentionables, no doubt about it. But all Sena really needed was to get to Mamori.

Normally, Sena hated it whenever Mamori had to protect him. But this was Hiruma. People would understand, and Sena really didn’t care even if he had to ask the _Ha Ha Brothers_ for help if it was _Hiruma_.

He dove from room to room, even did an impressive super-slick roll across the floor on one occasion. And then he got to the football field. It was suspiciously empty. Sena was sweating hard now. Should he dash through the whole thing or carefully weave through it?

Sena took a cautious step forward. It seemed to be the wrong move.

Suddenly, the field lights came on, momentarily blinding Sena. In the distance, he could hear a frightful rumble, and underneath his feet, he could feel the ground tremble slightly.

“Oh crap,” Sena said in a low voice and a rapidly growing sense of dread.

A hand fell on his shoulder and Sena went absolutely rigid.

“Hey, you okay? You just suddenly ran off a while ago.”

It was Musashi, and Sena breathed out a huge sigh of relief. He was safe.

“Practice is over and clubroom’s getting another renovation,” Musashi told him, gesturing off field just as a tractor-trailer truck and a dump truck came into view. He then turned to Sena. “Stay sharp. Hiruma’s been looking for you. Something to do with your new boyfriend.”

“My…you know?!” Sena exclaimed, while briskly checking his surroundings for any sign of the malevolent quarterback.

Musashi raised an eyebrow, looking slightly affronted. “I’m sorry, were you _actually_ trying to hide it?”

Okay, that wasn’t fair. Sena had been very, very careful. It was hardly his fault that Shin wasn’t the most discreet person in the world. He was about to point that out to Musashi when a chill suddenly passed through his spine.

Very, very slowly, Sena turned around. Hiruma was standing a little over ten feet away, grinning. It was a bloodcurdling grin. An ominous grin. Sena _ran_. Hiruma’s evil cackle was right on his heels. And possibly Kerberos. Sena didn’t want to look.

He already knew he wasn’t going to make it to the club room. He was doomed. But then, right there, just by the bleachers, Sena spied deliverance. He quickly changed directions and charged off field.

He was a little miffed over the fact that Shin stopped him so easily, especially when he had been running at top speed, but it was a passing consideration. Mostly Sena was just thinking _saved, saved, saved._

“You’re happy to see me,” Shin said as if he was stating a fact.

“Yes, so happy,” Sena breathed, clinging onto Shin for dear life. “That’s what this hug is for.”

Behind him, Hiruma was saying, “Hello, Shin.”

Sena should turn around now, but Shin’s arms were around him and Sena was absolutely _not letting go_. At least not until Hiruma was gone and it was perfectly safe.

“Hello Hiruma,” Shin greeted, perfectly polite. Sena found himself embarrassingly proud of him. “I’m here to pick Sena up,” he continued. Then added, “Because that’s what boyfriends do.”

“Of course,” Hiruma replied. Sena hazarded a glance and found Hiruma still sporting his patented sinister grin except it was ever so slightly different. If the same expression was found on a normal person’s face, Sena would have called it amused. “You can go, fucking shrimp,” he was addressing Sena now, in a tone that clearly said “this isn’t over”. Sena was only too glad for a chance at another day.

 

Shin walked Sena home. Shin _always_ walked Sena home.

Sena knew it was because either Sakuraba or Takami—but most likely Sakuraba, told Shin that it was the role of the boyfriend.

Except Sena too, was a boyfriend. And _he’d_ want to walk Shin home sometimes. He just didn’t know how to tell Shin that, didn’t want to bring Shin down in any way.

On their first actual time out together, Shin wanted to hold his hand because, “It’s what lovers do.” And while Sena found himself ridiculously giddy at the thought of him and Shin as “lovers”—at the idea that _Shin_ thought they were “lovers”—he really didn’t appreciate having his fingers crushed to bits. Shin was apologetic and had looked so completely lost afterwards that Sena felt absolutely wretched. He resolved then that the next time Shin broke his fingers, he’d be more…quiet about it.

When he asked his friends for advice afterwards, they weren’t particularly helpful.

“That’s how you do the relationship thing,” Monta had told him with the scrunched up expression he usually wore whenever they were discussing Shin Stuff. “Do everything to make the other person happy. So he broke one of your fingers, you take it like a man!”

Mamori had other ideas. “You have to be open with him,” she said with a very gentle voice and a very kind smile. It was the smile of a Supportive Sister, which was Mamori’s expression of choice when discussing Shin Who Is Sena’s Boyfriend. “You tell him what’s wrong, he tells you what’s wrong and you work your way past it.” Then her eyes went misty, as usual, and she self-consciously turned away.

“Oh my god, that’s, like, super cute!” Suzuna had exclaimed. “Eeh! Eeh!” She would always become loud and outrageously cheerful when talking about Shin And Sena Together Forever! “Shin’s so charming. He tries so hard. And you, you,” she said with her customary cheek pinch, “You’re so sweet about it!”

Kurita told him, “Food. Food makes it all better. Want some pocky?”

“Uh, they have some books in the library that might help you,” was Yukimitsu’s answer.

The Hah brothers had said in unison, “We don’t do that gay stuff.” Of course, Sena hadn’t actually asked them. They just overheard him speaking with Kurita about it and perhaps felt like their two cents deserved to be heard.

So now here was Sena, walking home with Shin. And they weren’t holding hands.

They’d done the eating together fine. Shin would insist on a perfectly balanced array of foodstuffs, all low-fat, nutritious, well-proportioned and neatly packaged. Sena would eat whatever his mom or Mamori had prepared for him. The first time, Shin had offered Sena some of his food and Sena was too starry-eyed at the proffered platter to remember that he was slightly allergic to beets. He’d gone home with a swollen tongue, but he absolutely didn’t care because Shin took some food out of his perfectly packed meal and _gave it to him._

They would also race. Sena loved racing in particular, because when running, they were in their element. And after every race, they would be in such a high that when they made out, it would be absolutely glorious and wonderful. Sena wanted it to be like that as often as possible. He looked sideways at Shin and thought, _We’re working on that._

Smiling, he reached out and slipped his hand right into Shin’s. He was careful about it, didn’t squeeze or shift to make it any more intimate than it already was. When Shin’s hand very slowly and very gently folded around his, Sena allowed himself to walk closer.

When they emerged into a crowded street, Sena reluctantly let go and Shin let him. They already had this conversation. Shin had been upset, but Sena had to be the coward. They were young and the world outside their football teams wasn’t as accepting.

At his place, Sena told Shin, “Come up to my room? We could hang a while.” When Shin suddenly looked nervous, Sena already had a very good idea why. “I’m not a girl. It’s not inappropriate.” He gave Shin an encouraging smile.

They lounged on Sena’s bed in companionable silence. Shin was sitting up with his legs stretched in front of him, his back against the wall. Sena had his head resting on his pillow, his legs comfortably arranged over Shin’s thighs.

Sena found himself asking, “Are you happy?”

“Yes,” Shin answered immediately and Sena suddenly found himself pushing up with his arms to look at him. Shin had his eyes closed, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Wow,” Sena found himself whispering, unable to breathe properly. Then he reached out and gently took hold of Shin’s sleeve.

Shin opened his eyes and moved, pressing Sena back into the mattress. They kissed languidly, Sena wrapping his arms around Shin’s neck, his legs around Shin’s thighs. They’ve never been so intimate before, and Sena could feel the heat pooling down his stomach. Above him Shin was hot and quivering and _hard._

Sena wondered if they were ready for this.

But then Shin had drawn back, only so far that their noses barely touched. He whispered, “I know what to do.” And then there was a small quirk on his lips that made Sena feel like his insides were melting. He had half a mind to demand exactly _how_ Shin knew what to do, but then Shin was Shin. Shin never did things halfway. In fact, it came as no small surprise to Sena that Shin would already learn how to give mind-blowing kisses within days of “practice.”

“Oh god,” Sena whispered as their clothed erections brushed against each other. Shin had lowered his head, his hands splayed out on either side of Sena, supporting his weight.

“Would you let me..?” Shin asked, uncertain, panting heavily into Sena’s neck and Sena thought, _Hell, yes._ He buried his fingers in Shin’s hair and brought his head back up so they could kiss. Shin’s lips were hard, fervent, almost bruising this time and Sena eagerly opened his mouth, welcoming Shin’s tongue, breathing Shin’s breath. Their hips rocked together, Shin clutching at Sena’s thighs, and Sena’s hands moving under Shin’s shirt, clinging on to Shin’s back.

Suddenly, Shin withdrew and before Sena could complain about it, he felt his pants being hastily pulled off. Sena sat up immediately, grabbing Shin’s collar and pulling his shirt off. Then Sena kissed him again, throwing his arms over Shin’s warm, naked shoulders. Shin’s hands were already on his underwear, drawing them down and pushing Sena back into the bed. This time, when Shin pulled away, he laid a firm hand on Sena’s stomach, holding him in place.

“Wha—” Sena began, but was abruptly cut off when the most delicious heat enveloped him and all he could do was bite his lip to keep from crying out and dig his hands into the bedspread. It didn’t last long, Shin worked him ardently, fingers and tongue teasing mercilessly until Sena cried out and came.

He felt absolutely boneless and just a little embarrassed at coming so easily. When Shin moved over him, _loomed_ over him, Sena saw he was wearing a smug expression.

“Wow,” Sena whispered, hooking a hand around Shin’s neck and bringing him down for a quick kiss. He pushed Shin back and told him, “So you think you’re so hot?”

Shin frowned, but Sena expected it. “I…You liked it…” he began, and Sena interrupted him with another kiss. He pulled back and slowly urged Shin to move, turning them around so that Shin was lying on his back and Sena was comfortably seated on his waist. “That was absolutely amazing.”

Shin’s face brightened visibly and then his lips turned up ever so slightly. “You were teasing me.”

Sena nodded, smiling fondly. _Now it’s my turn_ , he thought. He hooked his fingers around the waistband of Shin’s pants and slid them down. Shin was absolutely still under him, and very hard. Sena had a moment of panic. The concept of blowjobs wasn’t alien to him, but as he sat there, staring down at Shin who was so breathtakingly beautiful, he didn’t think he could do it. Or not very well. And damn it, he wanted to do it well. Because Shin did it perfectly and he deserved—but Shin had grabbed hold of his neck, urging him to move so that their faces were very close.

“Don’t worry about it,” Shin whispered, before bringing their lips together.

Sena stopped thinking. He kissed Shin back, gratefully, lovingly, and gently wrapped his right hand around Shin’s cock. Beneath him, Shin trembled and Sena smiled into the kiss, moving his hand. Sena thought about how he liked it, pacing his hand’s movements the way he would normally pace it if he were doing it to himself. When Shin came, his whole body convulsed. Beneath his fingers, Sena could feel the strength of Shin’s muscles and wondered how Shin could manage to be so gentle with him.

Later, tidied up, drowsy and very much content, Sena curled up against Shin, his cheek resting on Shin’s left shoulder. Shin’s arm was wrapped around his waist, fingers teasing at the small patch of skin between Sena’s shirt and the waistband of his pants.

“So how’d you know what to do?” Sena asked softly, smiling as he nestled his face into Shin’s neck, breathing Shin’s scent.

“Takami and Sakuraba gave me a book.”

Sena found himself laughing softly. Maybe he should’ve taken Yukimitsu’s advice after all. “Oh really?”

Shin turned his head. “You’re teasing me again,” he whispered into Sena’s hair.

“I’ll do better next time,” Sena found himself saying.

“ _I’ll_ do better next time,” Shin said in reply, his body tensing up. Again, Sena found himself marveling at the strength of that body, how so differently built they were. And then he thought of Hiruma and what he wanted Sena to do.

Sitting up, Sena turned to Shin and asked him, “I heard…are you training at Mt. Fuji this weekend?”

“I always train at Mt. Fuji during weekends,” Shin answered.

“Oh, right,” Sena said, pursing his lips before saying, “would you mind…if I came with you? We could train together.”

Shin didn’t answer immediately, and then he nodded. “That would be most effective.”

Sena smiled, relieved, before snuggling back in. “Great.”

 

The next day, Hiruma caught Sena right after class and sat him down in the club room. “So, fucking shrimp, you’re going to do it after all.”

That Hiruma knew didn’t surprise Sena. _How_ Hiruma knew was some cause for alarm. Not that Sena was going to ask.

“There’ll be boars,” Hiruma was saying, eyes twinkling. “And bears.”

Sena swallowed hard, and then thought about asking Hiruma for a gun.

“But most importantly, there’ll be Shin.” With this, Hiruma’s grin widened dramatically, fangs becoming exposed and glinting bright. He pulled out a dark red knapsack from god knows where and shoved it into Sena’s shaking arms. “You’re going to bring that with you. Don’t pack anything else.”

The bag was very, very heavy. Sena began to ask, “Um, what’s—“

“You’re not allowed to open it,” Hiruma interjected, suddenly leaning forward, making Sena fearfully lurch back. “Not until you get to the camp site.”

Sena was already nodding profusely. “Yes, yes, of course.”

Hiruma grinned, satisfied, and with a swift kick, sent Sena on his way.

 

While the red bag Hiruma had given him sat ominously at a corner of Sena’s room, Sena realized he was left with absolutely nothing to do in preparation for the weekend. Except one. Sena had been hoping to put off tackling that particular issue until it was almost time to leave, but thanks to Hiruma’s _considerate_ gesture of packing for him, said issue was now staring at Sena in the face.

“Might as well get it over with,” Sena said resignedly, before clenching his fists and thinking, _I won’t lose to Shin. Especially not in this,_ because as far as Sena was concerned, the dating scoreboard read Shin – 1, Sena – 0.

Monta was the first on his list. Not because Sena thought Monta could actually give him any _helpful_ advice, but because Monta was the person least likely to run away screaming. Or, more precisely, while Monta would probably run away screaming, he’d be the person most likely to come back. Because Sena and Monta were best buds. At the moment.

“Monta,” Sena began, deciding to bring up the issue when Monta was at one of his most happiest: eating a banana. “I need some help…”

Monta looked positively chipper. “Of course, Sena. Am always here for you, man,” he said between mouthfuls of banana mush.

“It’s about Shin,” Sena said. Monta’s face scrunched up slightly, but gestured for Sena to continue. “Um, well, it’s about Shin,” Sena said again, “and, um, sex.”

Immediately, Monta stopped chewing. Very slowly, he swallowed, tucked his half-eaten banana into his pocket, and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Sena thought it was a bad sign. He moved to sit across from Monta and waited.

“Okay,” Monta said after a particularly deep breath. “Hit me.”

Sena wondered if Monta was being literal or figurative about it. He decided to ask.

“Tell me about the problem,” Monta replied, hands clasped firmly on his knees and eyes intent.

Sena sighed, relieved. “We got a little…intimate, last night.” He stopped when Monta twitched, then continued when Monta made a small noise that sounded much like “and?” if one were to be saying it while biting his tongue, “and I kind of…choked…”

“Oh god!” Monta exclaimed, burying his face in his hands. “I can’t do this, I can’t!”

“I’m sorry,” Sena began, then blinked. “Whoa! Wait! I mean, I didn’t _choke_ on his…I mean, not literally. Oh god!” It was his time to bury his head in his hands, completely understanding why Monta had been driven to a panic. “No! Let’s start over. Just…”

“Okay, okay,” Monta said, taking very deep breaths. “Fine. Again.”

“Shin was great,” Sena tried again. “He was just amazing.”

Monta was nodding. “Yeah, yeah, we can work with that.”

Sena continued, relieved, “I, meanwhile? Not so much. And I need to get better. Preferably before this weekend.”

Again, Monta nodded.

“Great. So how do I get better?”

Monta was very, very silent. Then he replied, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“It’s not like I’ve had sex before!” Monta cried out before turning bright red and looking away.

“That’s perfectly fine,” Sena said very quickly. “I mean, you don’t have a girlfriend…” Monta keened and Sena mentally slapped himself. “Crap. I meant, I….bet you’re going to be really good at it,” he stammered. “It’s not like I have a say on it anyway, I just told you I sucked!”

Suddenly, Monta stopped flustering about and looked at Sena, who was, in turn, feeling stupid and more than a little embarrassed.

“You really think so?” Monta asked, tearing up.

Sena just wanted Monta to feel better. He nodded, then said sincerely, “You’ll be a great boyfriend, Monta. I mean it.”

And then Monta was hugging him, saying thinks like, “Grateful Max!” and crying copiously.

A few minutes later and they were ready to try again.

“So Shin had some help,” Monta was saying. “I always knew there was something going on with Takami and Sakuraba, never thought it’d turn out that…”

“Uh, they just gave Shin a book,” Sena said carefully. He didn’t really want to jump to conclusions.

“Oh,” Monta replied. “Whatever. Look Sena, Shin’s got the upper hand. He’s got knowledgeable friends. What have you got?”

“Well,” Sena began, trying to sound cheerful, “I’ve got…you?”

Monta twitched ever so slightly before bouncing back and saying, “Look, we’ve got to find someone who understands this kind of stuff. Do we know any gay guys?”

A few people came to mind, but Sena quickly shook his head. _No, no, not jumping to conclusions,_ he thought furiously.

“Mizumachi! He’s gotta be gay,” Monta said, smacking closed fist to open palm. “He’s taking his clothes off all the time. And he dyes his hair. And he’s really loud.”

Something was definitely wrong with Monta’s logic. “Shin doesn’t take _his_ clothes off!” Sena replied, a little affronted. _Although he really should,_ he added silently. _And as often as possible._ “And neither do I! And we don’t dye our hair and we’re not loud either.”

But Monta was already on a roll and if there’s anything about Monta on a roll, it’s that he doesn’t stop…rolling. He snapped his fingers. “Taki! Let’s ask Taki!”

Sena’s eyes widened and he quickly said, “Mizumachi. I think we should go with Mizumachi.”

 

Going into a men’s bathhouse with the intention of asking advice for gay sex (from a guy Sena honestly thought wasn’t gay) was hardly the smartest thing Sena had ever done. In fact, Sena felt very stupid at the moment. But Monta was already dipping into the hot water, spreading his arms on either side and looking straight at Kakei and Mizumachi, who was currently happily scrubbing himself with bath soap and a sponge.

Shin had come to pick Sena up from school again, and Sena had to stutter out a very lame excuse as to why he couldn’t go home with Shin that afternoon. He felt very guilty about that, but he promised to himself that he’d make it up to Shin. By being better at sex, for one.

“Mizumachi,” Monta called out, and Sena sighed heavily, resigned.

Mizumachi looked up at him. “Hey. What’s up?”

“You’re gay, right?”

The bathhouse fell silent. Even Kakei, who had only nodded briefly at them when they entered, was taken aback. But Sena was already looking at Mizumachi’s horrified face and thinking, _Oh. My. God._

“WHAT?! NO! I’M NOT GAY!” Mizumachi finally exclaimed. Except Sena already knew that wasn’t entirely true.

Monta, however, was looking embarrassed. “Oh man, I’m sorry. I just thought…”

“What? What made you think that?!” Mizumachi demanded, voice rising an octave.

Monta was waving his arms in front of him. “I’m sorry! I was wrong! Sorry!”

“Calm down,” Kakei told Mizumachi, before regarding Monta. “You were confused. Understandable.”

“Understandable?!”

“ _Calm down,_ ” Kakei repeated, glaring sideways at Mizumachi.

“It’s just that Sena,” Monta began, but Sena was already hushing him up. “Nothing! Nothing!” Sena said, blushing furiously. “Oh wow, look at the time!” Never mind that there wasn’t a clock anywhere in sight. “We’ve got to go. We’ve got a…Taki! Yeah, we were speaking with Taki and…”

“Shin?”

Sena froze. Both Mizumachi and Kakei were looking past his shoulder and Sena thought, _Oh crap._ He turned around and saw Shin standing by the doorway, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. Sena took a moment of his time to drool properly, then he uneasily waved his boyfriend over.

Shin approached them slowly, looking confused.

“It didn’t feel right,” Shin told him, glancing quickly at Kakei, Mizumachi, Monta, and then back at Sena. “What you said a while ago didn’t feel right to me. So I went looking for you.” His face softened. “You’re all right?”

Sena nodded, feeling very, very guilty and very, very wretched. “I’m fine.” He turned to Mizumachi and Kakei and said, “I’m sorry for troubling you. We’ll be going now.”

 

The moment they left the bathhouse, Monta waved them good-bye and Sena led Shin to Kuromisa where they sat beside each other on the grass by the riverbank.

Then came the inevitable question. “Why did you lie to me?” Shin actually sounded a little angry, and Sena flinched, biting his lip in shame.

“I shouldn’t have,” Sena said, bringing his head up so that he could meet Shin’s eyes. The least he could do was apologize properly. “I’m really sorry.”

Shin was staring back at him, searching his face. Finally, he nodded. “I believe you. But why?”

Sena took a deep breath. “I was trying to…train for something. Monta thought maybe Mizumachi could help me out.” Shin frowned and Sena continued, “It was stupid. You see I thought maybe Mizumachi could help me get better at,” he swallowed, “sex.”

Shin looked stunned. And then his face darkened. “I see,” he said, quickly standing up.

Sena suddenly realized Shin might have taken things the wrong way. “No! Wait!” But Shin was already moving. Sena quickly scrambled to his feet and by the time he got back to the road, Shin was a good way off. The distance was nothing Sena couldn’t close up with a quick sprint, but just as he dug his feet into the ground, Shin abruptly turned on his heel and dashed right back so that in a few, sudden seconds, he was standing right in front of Sena.

“Uh,” Sena began, suddenly feeling nervous as he looked up at Shin, “I’m glad…that you came back. I think I need to clarify—”

“I won’t do it,” Shin said, interrupting him. His eyes were narrowed, and his fists were clenched on either side of him.

Sena blinked. “Huh?”

“You want to date other people,” Shin stated matter-of-factly, eyes narrowing further. “And I should let you go. But I won’t do it.”

Sena’s jaw dropped, then he exclaimed, “No! Of course you won’t! I mean, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t want…“

“So now I have to deal with the competition.”

“…to date anyone el—,” Sena stopped, Shin’s words finally registering. He decided he didn’t like the sound of that, but Shin had already disappeared. Or, more accurately, Shin had already moved very, very fast, sprinting away at a speed that Sena would be hard-pressed to beat.

Hastily collecting his bearings, Sena dashed right after Shin, thinking that whatever Takami and Sakuraba might have given his boyfriend, it was either fiction, or very outdated. Or both.

When Shin came upon the bathhouse, Sena was only a second behind him, and both Mizumachi and Kakei were just on their way out.

Shin immediately stalked towards Mizumachi, looking up at him with a dark and unwavering expression. “Kyoshin Poseidon’s Defensive End,” said Shin. “I challenge you.”

Mizumachi glanced down at Shin fearfully. Then he turned his head ever so slightly. “Um, Kakei?”

“Stop!” Sena exclaimed, rushing forward and bodily placing himself between Shin and Mizumachi. “Shin, I don’t _want_ to date anyone else. I just needed tips so that I could be a better boyfriend. To you. You. No one else.” He placed his hands on Shin’s chest and gently moved him back, away from Mizumachi.

From the side, Kakei simply said, “Huh.” Mizumachi very carefully moved so that he now stood ever so slightly behind his teammate.

“I’m sorry,” Sena said as earnestly as possible. “I really am sorry for lying to you. I just wanted to be better. For you. You understand that, right?”

Slowly, Shin nodded. Then he put a hand on Sena’s shoulder and gently brought him aside so that he could bow properly to Mizumachi. “I misunderstood. I apologize.”

Mizumachi hurriedly said, “Oh, no sweat. Absolutely. Think nothing of it.”

When Shin had straightened, both parties were quick to say their good-byes.

“You wouldn’t have gotten anything useful out of Kengo anyway,” Kakei said in parting, in which Mizumachi immediately retorted with a, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

When they were finally alone, Sena asked Shin, “Will you walk me home now?”

 

Saturday morning, Sena was getting very nervous about his pre-packed bag. He had actually been half expecting it to move. Maybe even growl. But it did none of those things, which was actually even more worrying.

Sena shouldered his pack, trying to get used to the weight. It was heavier than he was accustomed to, and he had the sinking feeling that Hiruma made it so that Sena would be working real hard just carrying the bag all the way up Mt. Fuji. _I’ll actually be_ running _up Mt. Fuji_ , Sena amended.

He made his way to the station. Shin was already waiting for him.

“Hey,” Sena greeted with a somewhat warm smile.

Shin nodded to him in welcome and Sena moved to stand next to him, their hands brushing.

Oujou’s Coach Shouji picked them up on his Jeep Wrangler shortly after. Conversation in the vehicle had just been limited to talks about the weather, their parental consents, and Shouji asking if both boys were sure they’d packed everything they needed—Sena had simply said, “Um.”

When Shouji dropped them off by the roadside, near the foot of Mt. Fuji, he pointedly handed Sena a GPS device and then a folded map. “Just in case,” said Shouji, glancing sideways at Shin.

Sena waved feebly at Shouji’s departing vehicle while keeping an eye out for Shin who was already making his way into the dense forest.

Last night’s walk home had been very uncomfortable. Shin spent the entire time deep in thought and Sena didn’t have the heart to potentially upset him further.

“We’re still together?” Shin had asked when they had gotten to Sena’s place.

“Of course!” Sena had exclaimed, before ducking his head and saying in a low voice, “That is, if you still want us to be.”

Shin had replied simply, “Tomorrow then,” before kissing Sena good night. And just like that, Sena already knew that things were going to be okay.

After doing their stretching in silence, Shin mapped out his usual running course for Sena to study. They started with a light jog up the mountain, Sena following Shin’s lead.

Some fifteen minutes in, Shin glanced sideways at Sena, giving him a very small smile and saying in a low, clear voice, “Keep up, Eyeshield,” before abruptly accelerating. Sena didn’t waste a second, grinning broadly and giving chase. They sprinted up the mountain, Shin leading Sena safely over the sloped terrain.

They weren’t running very long—just two laps around Shin’s usual route which ended at a small camping site—but Sena was already feeling his bag growing heavier as he expended more energy. Shin already noticed, slowing their pace to a more workable level, but Sena didn’t want to take it like that. On their last round, he drew closer to Shin so that they were running neck and neck. Then he said, “Race you to the site.”

He gave Shin a second before taking off at his fastest sprint. He dodged trees and shrubberies, Shin very close behind him. _Let’s see you do this,_ Sena thought, drunk on competitive spirit. He pulled three, four, five Devil Bat Ghosts, and when he got to the clearing, Shin was two seconds behind him. Sena laughed, turning quickly around just in time to meet Shin’s barreling frame.

They tumbled to the ground, Sena still laughing, and when he drew back to look, Shin’s eyes were gleaming brightly.

Sena stopped laughing for a moment to breathlessly proclaim, “I win.” And then Shin was on him, hands firmly planted on either side of Sena’s head. “I’ll win next time,” he said, before kissing him fiercely.

 

Hiruma had packed him food, toiletries, water, blankets, some of Sena’s favorite clothes (how Hiruma got hold of them, Sena didn’t want to think about) and marbles. Lots of marbles. They were in various pockets tightly sewn closed, and made up for about a third of the bag’s entire weight.

Sena shouldn’t have been surprised.

Hiruma also packed him a small leather-bound notebook. It was well-worn and bursting at the edges, held together by three large rubber bands. On the cover was a note that said, “READ ME OR ELSE.”

Sena set the notebook aside for the meantime, as both he and Shin continued their training through the morning and into the late afternoon.

By five, Sena was boneless with exhaustion and positively giddy that he managed to get past Shin _four times_. Granted, Shin beat him soundly some two dozen times, but Sena liked to look at the bright side of things. Shin was the strongest, but Sena was still the fastest.

After washing up and changing clothes, they returned to the camping site to cool down. The sun had barely set but the cold was already starting to become bothersome and Shouji wasn’t due to pick them up for another two hours.

Shin was working on starting a campfire, while Sena had settled himself more comfortably on the ground to work on removing the rubber bands from Hiruma’s notebook.

Sena steeled himself as he opened the pad to its first page. It was filled with gibberish. Or at least it started out as gibberish until Sena started to recognize some of the names and figures written in Hiruma’s largely disorganized script. Most of the notebook was, in summation, data on the Oujo White Knight’s golden generation.

Sena flipped through the pages, wondering why Hiruma would give him a notebook that was pretty useless anyway given that the golden generation had graduated, but two-thirds in, there was another note for Sena, written in large, red letters: HERE YOU GO, FUCKING SHRIMP.

The next pages were all filled with Shin’s data. His ever improving record with the 40-yard dash and the bench press, his touchdowns, his more infamous tackles, and even his various training regimes. Moreover, everything past the third page of Shin’s very own section seemed freshly written—seeing as they’d been penned with the same red ink used in Hiruma’s previous message to Sena, and were significantly less frayed than the earlier pages.

Sena read through the new notes with increasing wonder, and the very last page with no small amount of horror. _Holy shit,_ he thought.

“What are you reading?”

Sena found himself freezing up, feeling as if he’d been caught committing a crime. Shin had managed to get the fire going and the campsite was fast becoming comfortably temperate. And now, Shin was moving to sit right next to him. Sena quickly shut the notebook and shoved it into his bag.

“Oh,” Shin said, brows furrowing. “You don’t want me to see it.”

Sena felt a bit foolish, but hiding the notebook had been an instinctive reaction. “No,” he told Shin. “I was just surprised and it’s not exactly…” He trailed off, then sighed heavily, bringing the notebook back out and showing Shin some of the pages. “Hiruma gave me some reading material.”

Shin gave the notebook a quick glance and said, “Oh. Takami has a lot of those too.”

 _Nope, not this kind,_ Sena thought, biting his lip.

“You’re wound up,” Shin observed, leaning back and resting a hand on Sena’s back.

“Yes, well,” Sena said, looking up at Shin and thinking, _I shouldn’t ask. I mean, it doesn’t matter. But seriously now. Okay, I’ll ask. Only about that one bit. Just that one…_ “Is it true you once killed a wild boar up here with your _bare hands_?”

Shin blinked at him a few times, then said, “It was only pure meat and very nutritionally unbalanced.”

Sena openly stared. _Well now,_ he thought. And then Shin’s lips curved into a very obvious smirk before adding, “But it was very delicious.”

Sena couldn’t help himself. He laughed then sat up on his knees and moved around so that he was straddling Shin’s lap. “I love you.”

Shin’s smirk dissolved, and then he gave Sena an open smile. “I know what that means,” he whispered, leaning forward so that their foreheads touched, and then Sena knew that Shin loved him too.

 

The next time Sena saw Hiruma at practice, he said, “Can I keep the notebook?”

Hiruma had been fiddling around with his phone, and didn’t even look up when he asked, “Had sex yet?”

Sena blushed instinctively, but answered, “Not…the kind you wrote about.”

“Then it’s all yours, fucking shrimp,” Hiruma said, shutting off his phone and walking away.

Sena felt the need to call out to him, “Um, thanks for the advice!” In a lower voice, he added, smiling brightly, “But I think we’re going to be okay.”


End file.
